Report of the Governor of Idaho, 1879 [With] Report of the Surveyor-General of Idaho, 1879
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University of Oklahoma College of Law University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 10-8-1879 Report of the Governor of Idaho, 1879 [with] Report of the Surveyor-General of Idaho, 1879 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/indianserialset Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation H.R. Exec. Doc. No.1, 46th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1879) This House Executive Document is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 by an authorized administrator of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR OF IDAHO. EXECUTIVE DEPA.RTMENT, IDAHO TERRITORY, Boise City, October 8, 1879. SIR: In compliance with your request of August 28th ultimo, I have the honor to submit the following pages : · . Unfortunately the subject of collecting statistics has, thus far, re ceived so little attention of the legislature as to render completeness of statement and exactness in detail impossible, in undertaking a report upon the annual advance made in the various departments of industry and growth, concerning which information is sought. This paper, therefore, is made up of general facts · and discussion, rather than of figures. The year bas been one of gene-ral thrift and prosperity. Agri culture has been remunerative. Mining bas developed with remarkable success in various parts. Many thousands have been added to our population. Schools are encouraged. General health has prevailed. In the administration of justice and the management of public affairs great advances have been made, and the in~erests of the goYernment .and Territory cared for with improving eeonomy and fidelity. With the advent of railroads and the improvement of highways, now in progress and in prospect, a large emigration may be looked for; and the facilities for bringing in machinery and supplies will cheapen trans portation and give life to enterprise. The mild climate of Idaho, its rich resources, its healthfulness, its soil, capable of such rich returns, will, in time, under favorable legislation, make it the home of a vigor ous and enlightened people. BOUNDARIES.. The Territory of Idaho, from its southern base upon Nevada and Utah, at latitude 42° north, to the British possessions at 49o, covers a length of about 410 miles. In width it is 257 miles at its southern and 60 miles at its northern limit. It is separated from the State of Oregon .and the Territory of Washington on the west by a direct meridian line, broken by the course of Snake River, which forms its western boundary for about 150 mile . On the east, its wide base lies against the Territory of Wyoming, while the Bitter Root, an almost impassable range of mountains, form ing a natural boundary, separates it from the Territory of Montana. Thi peculiarity of conformation accounts for the inconvenient shape of the Territory. Since ~he organization of Idaho, under provi ion of the act of March 3, 18G3, It area has been reduced to form other Territories until it now comprises 86,294 square miles, equal to 55,228,160 acres. 416 REPORT OF THE SECRETNRY Ol!' THE IN'l'BRIOR • .An a.pproximate estimate of the quality of these lands will afford, suitable for cultivation in their natural state, 15,000,000 of acres; capable of reclamation by irrigration, 12,000,000 of acres; grazing lands, 5,000,000 of acres; timber lands, 10,000,000 of acres; mining tracts, 8,000,000 of acres; the 4,228,160 acres desert being destitute of timber and minerals, and beyond the reach of irrigation. Large por tions of the mining tracts bear timber also. RAINS. There is not sufficient water-surface· in Middle and Southern Idaho,. nor on its southern, eastern, and northern sides, to furnish, by solar evaporation, rains to make its rich soil productive. By reason of the great northerly current, which, like the Gulf Stream in the .Atlantic, traverses the Pacific parallel with the coast from a semi-tropical lati tuue far toward the North Pole, an unusual mildness and humidity pre vail. The isothermal lines on our maps, binding parts to the north, indicate the extent of the mollifying influences upon climate. The masses of vapor rising from the ocean, being borne by westerly winds, are forced into a higher and colder region in ascending the mountain ranges that stand parallel to the shore, and condensed in rains, fall in abundance on the other side, or, rising higher, they congeal and rest in snow upon the mountain tops. The winds, bearing no longer the gift of rain, pass over the land, leaving large portions a barren waste. This condition does not attach to Northern Idaho, which more nearly resembles Oregon and Wa bington, and like them is capable of sustaining a heavy fixed pop ulation without resort to irrigation. There are also fertile valleys among the mountains, watered by the melting snows, which, protected by high altitude and dense forests, bold out through the year. IRRIGA'l'ION. The numerous rivers of Idaho rise in ranges of mountains on the east, and flow westwardly and north into the Oolum bia. The melting snows which ·upply them remain unexbausted tbrouglwut the year. Their d cent is rapid, through deep and rocky gorges, and broken by cataracts of great magnitude, remarkable for grandeur of scenery. Navigation i ', of cour , impo sible, save for short uistances on Lower Snake River, aud during pring freshets on tl}.e Clearwater. The t p de cent of the e river , while unfitting them for navigation, rh them increa. ·ed value in supplying the absence of rain. Water is ta1 n out at hort intervals, in canals and ditche.·, and carried to the wa .. t land', hile million.· of acres are bevond the reach of artificial irrigation, ther ar yet other millions acces ·ible to cultivation, posses - ing r markable fertilizing· qualitie. ·. vVitlwut artificial aidR, they will r main, a · . ·ignated by law "doomed to perpetual barrenne s." Th ,·cien · and m •tho<l · of inigation are older than written history. I i · pr bable hat . aYage tribe., >hut out from region fitted by nature for cultivation by powe ·fulriYal. ·, and driven to the de crt·, contrived, um .T th 1>1' .... ur of n · · ,.,.ity, tho ·e .'tnpeudon,. ~orks which brought h • earth UJHl•r .'nbj ction and ·av birth to pow ·rfnl natiou . In .Ar m ·nia ra · .· f th .· gr a work,. are found, the o1igin of which goe } ·J ~ l e 'Ond hi,.tory. In ,hlna in ~ll(Ua, in A. ia 1iuor, and near the · nr · •. f th Eupbr< t . , and mor notahly in Eo· 1lt a. w ll a many oth ·r in ri r c uutri · irrigcttiou by artifidal m an .. wa. and still i the ulv m d ku ' ·n :r wbi ·h lwl itation i .. ma lc po '.'ibl'. In Palestine IDAHO TERRITOH.Y. 417 the knowledge of this art belongs to the days of Solomon. "Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Dam ascus" (now known as Baracla and A waj), running east, fall into reservoirs on the border oftheGreatArabianDesert. To the artificial distribution of their waters the plains of Damascus owe much of their fertility. Mr. McGregor, in his "Rob Roy on the J ordau," says that, as a work of hydraulic engineering, the system of canals, by which the A bana and Pharpar are used for irrigation, may b~ considered as the most complete and extensive in the world. In Southern Europe, iil the Turkish Empire, in the East Indian dependencies of Great Brit ain, and more recently in Algeria, immense tracts of arid country are brought under cultivation and made tributary to tlw world's wealth. We have for our im;truction the historical fact that in an countries of the Old World, in ancient and modern times, the supply of water by ar tificial means has been the work of the government, not of individuals. The ruling power necessarily controlled the use of water, and provided the means of supplying it, often making it a source of revenue, in addi tion to aiding the growth of communities, and strengthening the power of the state. It is submitted whether the conditions are so different with us as to promise success under our desert-land law. Our now worthless lands are held at the same price as well timbered a11d watered lands a thou sand miles nearer the markets of the world. The settler can only enter one section. He cannot encumber or dispose of his inchoate title, nor contract to do so, until, after complying with the conditions, he makes it perfect by final proof and payment. Except in the most advantageous locations, adjacent to the streams, the expense of carrying water upon his land far exceeds its prospective value. Interior tracts canuot be reached without constructing ditches over those already occupied, or through public lands, from which no benefit is received by him who performs the labor. As to this class of lands, a constant and cheap supply of water is the governing necessity. Without this they remain worthless for ever. Were all the reclaimable lands, in single sections, in private hands, the struggle to secure water would involve the people iu contentions and violence, and ruin them in endless litigation. Though nuder the present law choice tracts, level and near towater, may be sold, the great body of desert lands can scarcely be giYen, away, not being worth the taxes.